


Escaping Fate

by dmc2izBEstIngamE



Category: BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27260710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dmc2izBEstIngamE/pseuds/dmc2izBEstIngamE
Summary: One moment Umbra was in the middle of the most important battle of his life. The next he was waking up with a pounding headache. To make matters worse, he learns that he has to help the person he was just fighting. If he doesn't, he'll be trapped in a tangled world of endless conflict.
Kudos: 1





	1. From Bad to Worse

**Author's Note:**

> So real quick, this was originally only going to be a fic I posted on FF Net. The reason for that is because I was going to write a Silent Hill fic over here. Almost right away I got hung up on the pacing. First it was too slow, then it was too fast. I just couldn't seem to get it right. Since Silent Hill 2 is my favorite piece of media ever (alongside John Carpenters version of The Thing) the only way I would post a fic for Silent Hill is if everything was perfect. So instead, I'll just be posting this story on both sites. I really don't know what else to add for the tags, so there's that. At the very least I'll be adding more characters when I figure out who else I want to add. There's at least going to be one person from each game in Crosstag. Okay that wasn't as quick as I wanted it to be... Until next time, have a good one and stay safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Went and cleaned up both this chapter and the 2nd up. Should have less mistakes now. Until next time, have a good one and stay safe.

Waking with a groan, my head was pounding. While sitting up I put a hand up to nurse my headache. It didn't have much of an affect. Most of my memories were hazy, but my fight with Hector was still fresh. That was the last thing I could remember. Did he win? If that was the case, why was I still alive? Those questions could wait for later, right now I had more important things to focus on.

Standing up I needed to make sure all my gear was still with me. When I knew Lunar and Solar Eclipse were still there I let out a sight of relief. Reaching over my shoulder I could also confirm that Shadow Rose was there as well. What a stupid name for a sword… Thinking on it now, I should have named the stupid thing myself. If I had known Ruby was going to give it such a stupid name, I would have done it myself. Oh well. Once I thought of something better I'd just rename it.

Scanning my surroundings I tried to find out where I was. None of the landmarks were ones that I could recognize. When I did see something I recognized, I tensed up. Standing near a cliff's edge looking down was Hector himself. Unsheathing Shadow Rose I rushed forward. Bringing my blade down I tried to cut him in two. In a flash he met my broadsword with his claymore. Metal scraped against metal as neither of us were willing to back down. While I was sneering he was grinning.

"Waaaaiit! Stop! Stop fighting!" Ignoring the voice that was calling out to us I pushed even harder. I was trying to push Hector over the edge. "Come on guys really! You two can't be fighting right now! It's against the rules!" Hector kicked my stomach and sent me skidding back.

"If I were you Umbra I'd listen to the lady." He kept that stupid grin on his face. "Like she said, it's against the rules for us to fight right now." Since when did he care about rules? Sliding my right foot back, I got into my stance. Pointing the tip of Shadow Rose towards Hector I refused to let my guard down.

"Thank you! Now, you're probably wondering what you're doing here…" Sticking his sword into the ground, Hector leaned against Decimation.

"We've been torn from the world of Remnant and we're being forced to fight our way back." Crossing his arms, Hector had a smug look on his face.

"Hey! That was my job!" There's no way any of this could be real. I'm laying in a pool of my own blood back at Beacon. All of this had to be some fever dream my body cooked up while I'm on the verge of death. The voice sighed before continuing. "But yes. Your friend here isn't lying. If you wish to return to your world, you'll have to claw your way through the competition!" Reaching into his pocket, Hector pulled out some kind of red gem.

"In order to get home, we'll have to collect three more of these. At the same time we have to protect ours. In other words Umbra… We've gotta work together to get home." Growling, I got ready to attack him again.

"Like I'd ever side with you!" I rushed forward once more, Hector tripped me though before I could properly attack him. Falling onto my face I ate dirt.

"Aren't you forgetting something Umbra? Or should I say someone? Even if you kill me, what about Eliza? If you get trapped here, there's no way you'd be able to fully finish what you started. She'd get away with what she's done…" Dusting myself off as I got up I let his words sink in. He was right. "If we work together Umbra, we'll be home before you know it." Hector held his hand out to me. He still had that stupid grin on his face. Slapping his hand away I scowled. Sheathing Shadow Rose, I pointed at his face.

"Just know that as soon as we get home, you're dead." Hector pulled Decimation out of the ground and pocketed the gem. For being sent to another dimension, Hector was taking things a little too well. To him, it almost seemed like a game of sorts. Or maybe he just enjoyed how upset I was over having to fight alongside him.

Letting Hector take the lead, I didn't want to end up getting stabbed in the back. Even after everything that was said I still didn't trust him. I mean really. There was no _way_ we were stuck in some other world. That was impossible. The most likely scenario was that Hector and his friends were behind this. Emerald was using her Semblance to screw with me and the one talking was Neo. Considering she was the only one I never heard speak, she was the only one that voice could be.

"Ya know Umbra, you can loosen up a little. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be breathing right now." There wasn't a thing he could say that would make me believe him. "I woke up before you after all. That voice explained everything to me while you were sleeping." Reaching into his pockets, Hector pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Just shut up. You've lied to me before, how can I trust a word you say?" After lighting up a cigarette, he put the pack and lighter away.

"Whatever you say Umbra… Whatever you say…" For now I'd play along. While I didn't believe any of this, I had to admit that I felt… Different. Something felt off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what. At the very least I had to find out what that was.

* * *

After what felt like forever, we finally managed to come across some sort of town. The only problem was that there wasn't a single person in sight. In place of people were weird see-through shadow things. Walking up to one that was near a vending machine, I wanted to see if they would react to me. Grabbing at it's shoulder, my hand ended up going right through. It was freaky.

"Umbra! Quit messing around with the locals! We've got friends!" Looking over to Hector I saw that two people were standing next to him. One was a girl with long red hair and a fancy white coat. The other was some shirtless weirdo with a red cape. Seeing his cape, I could feel a migraine coming on… Approaching the group I gently rested my left hand on Lunar Eclipse's handle.

"It's nice to finally come across someone more level headed." They obviously didn't know who Hector was. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, and my friend's name is Akihiko Sanada." The girl extended her hand. Putting on a fake smile, Hector shook her hand.

"Name's Hector Hart." Breaking contact, Hector pulled me close. "This here is my son Umbra. Just like you guys we were ripped from our world. We were out hunting when it happened." What a lying sack of- "You guys have any idea on what's going on?" Pushing away from Hector I made a mental note to burn my clothes when I got out of this.

"What is this I see? Two teams of two? I think you all know what that means!" Out of nowhere that voice from earlier came back. Looking around to try and spot her, I wasn't able to see anyone. Just what was going on, how long were they going to keep this up? When I couldn't find the mystery woman, I looked over at the others. While Mitsuru didn't look too happy, Akihiko started punching the air.

"Why don't we treat this as a training session. Who knows, it could be fun." Hector and Mitsuru stepped off to the side, leaving me with Akihiko. Reaching over my shoulder I unsheathed Shadow Rose. Getting into my stance I focused in on Akihiko.

Akihiko made the first move and rushed in. The way he fought reminded me of Yang. He was fast and packed a punch so I had to be careful. Backing off to come up with a plan proved to be a bad idea. Catching me off guard, he summoned something to attack me. Getting hit I was now caught in a combo. Together with his summon Akihiko did a number on me. Knowing my Aura wasn't the strongest I expected to be in pain. When he blasted me away however, I felt nothing. Odd…

Recovering from the onslaught it was time for me to go on the offensive. Thanks to the sun going down, I was able to use my Semblance. Slipping into the shadows I appeared behind Akihiko. Slashing at his back I sent him flying. Keeping the pressure up I followed him with my Semblance. After a few more slashes I slashed my blade in an arc and sent him up. Jumping after him I kept the combo going. Finishing my air combo with a helm breaker I sent Akihiko crashing to the ground.

The rest of our fight was a tense back and forth battle. There were a few times that I thought I'd lose. Eventually the win went to me, but I couldn't help but feel like Akihiko was holding back. Clapping his hands while walking up to us Hector made an appearance.

"I was wondering when you two would be done. Thought I was gonna have to jump in there Umbra." Sheathing Shadow Rose I didn't acknowledge his insult. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out another cigarette. It was his fourth one. Usually Hector only smoked this much when he was stressed about something.

"Both of you are quite skilled." Mitsuru was the next to walk over. Looking over at where they fought I could see scorch marks on the ground. She must have been strong enough to make Hector fight seriously. That, or he just wanted to show off.

"Why don't we team up? Together, the four of us could find a way out of here. I don't know about you, but I don't trust that voice." Rolling his shoulders Akihiko was back up. Before I could say anything Hector spoke up.

"Don't take this personally, but I trust you two about as much as that voice." Hearing Hector say that, something he told me once came to mind. _Y_ _ou have to look out for yoursel_ _f,_ _because no one else will…_

"That's too bad. But I understand. We'll be on our way then." Taking their leave, Mitsuru and her friend Akihiko walked off. Once again, much to my displeasure, it was just me and Hector. At the very least, that fight confirmed something for me. That feeling I had… That something wasn't right… I knew what that was now. Not only did I feel lighter, but stronger as well. My Aura should have shattered during that fight. A sick feeling rose from my stomach. If this was all really happening, th-

"Umbraaaa!" Interrupting my thinking, a speeding bullet crashed into me. A red, very annoying, bullet… "I can't believe it's you that's here! I thought…" Tuning out Ruby's rambling I used my Semblance to break free from her clutches. As I dusted myself off I noticed that Hector was making a face.

"Ruby you can't just run off… Like… That…" Would you look at that. Weiss was here too. At the very least she could keep Ruby in-check. "You! I can't believe this!" From the sound of it Weiss was just as happy to see me as I was them. "Ruby let's leave. I refuse to side myself with two criminals!" She was elated.

"Did the voice fail to mention something to you girlie?" Pulling out the gem he showed me earlier, Hector held it in his open palm for them to see. "If you want to get home, we'll need to collect three more of these. I believe she called them Keystones or something. I was only half paying attention." Having caught Weiss's attention he put the keystone away. "That's _we_ , as in all of us. And if you think I'm gonna hand it over, you can think again. I'm the adult and only fully trained Huntsman here, so naturally it falls onto me to take care of the important stuff." Huffing, Weiss crossed her arms. Ruby on the other hand looked like she just remembered something.

"Oh! I should go let Yang and Blake know that we found the 'friends' that System told us about!" Great. More people that I didn't want to be around. Who next, Nora? That creepy girl Neo? Speeding off with her Semblance, Ruby was off to find Yang and Blake. Wherever they were. Which left Weiss.

"We're not going to wait here for her, right?" I wanted to get this over as fast as possible. "We have more important things to be doing." The longer we sat around, the longer it took us to get home.

"It would help if we split up. We'd cover more ground that way." I already knew that Hector couldn't care less either way. If it wasn't for the rule of all battles being two on two, he'd be running around on his own.

"Do whatever you want. Though honestly I'd rather not be seen traveling with the likes of you." What Weiss was saying was, get out of my sight. Looking over at Hector, he shrugged.

"Fine then. You wait here for Ruby. Me and Hector will go gather the other three Keystones." Just saying that made me feel disgusted. I couldn't wait to get out of here. Walking off with Hector, he looked back to wave at Weiss.

"If you or your friends collect anymore Keystones, make sure to bring 'em to us!" Putting on a fake smile as he waved, I was tempted to kick him in the shin.

* * *

Having left Weiss behind we were now wandering through the creepy town. We were trying to find someone else who was carrying a Keystone. After that fight with Akihiko I had come to terms that this was the real deal. Seeing as how Hector was also on track of going through an entire pack of cigarettes in one day, I knew he wasn't in on this. Something about all of this had him stressed.

"What was the red ones name again? Ruby?" Breaking the silence, Hector was trying to start a conversation. "She looked a lot like Ca-" Reeling back I punched him in the face. Knocking the smoke from his mouth in the process. Holding a hand up to his jaw he pretended to be hurt.

"Don't even say it! You don't get to say her name. In fact, you don't get to mention anything about back home! Not about her, my mother or anything else related to home! Once we collect the three Keystones, you and I are done! Got it!?"Knowing what Hector had done, I knew he was cruel. But going so far as to torture me like that… That was crossing yet another line. "I said do you understand!" Calmly taking out another cigarette Hector looked me in the eyes.

"Yeah. I got it." He was oddly calm. I half expected him to lash out. Not so much for the punch, but because I wasted one of his cigarettes. Putting my hands into my pockets I took the lead. No longer afraid that Hector was going to attack me. He wouldn't be able to escape without my help, nor I without his. All of this had to be one big, cruel joke…


	2. Power of the Hart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure that I forgot to mention it last chapter, but this is a spin-off of my first fic, Umbral Shadow. You don't have to read it, but it would help you understand Umbra and Hector a little better. I don't have anything else, so until next time have a good one and stay safe.

Walking down the darkening streets of whatever town we were in, Hector had actually stayed silent. After I hit him, the sadist hadn't said a word. It actually made me feel better. Not only was punching him satisfying in and of itself, but for the first time in awhile I finally had some peace and quite. No more questions from Ruby. No more insults getting flung at me from Weiss. It was the happiest I had been in awhile. The only thing that could make me feel even better was if I could take out Hector. Absolutely nothing could ruin my m-

"Look out!" Before I knew it, someone had crashed into me. Using my Semblance I regained my composure. From behind me I could hear Hector laughing his ass off. I'd be sure to make his death all the more painful when I got the chance. "I'm sorry about that, are you okay?" Standing up rubbing her head was some weird looking girl with pink hair. For some reason, I had a bad feeling about her.

"I'm fine, so save your apologies." If it wasn't for the possibility that she could have a Keystone, I would have just walked off. Knowing they were the only way home, I wasn't afraid to be blunt about it either. "Do you have a Keystone? We have one ourselves. If you do, me and my… Partner… Would like to battle." Tilting her head to the side, the pink haired girl gave me a weird look.

"Keystone? Is that a Key made out of stone?" Was she playing stupid? If she was, I couldn't understand why. The Keystones were the only way home. I already told her we had one, so what good would hiding the fact that she had one do? Stepping up next to me, Hector pulled the Keystone out of his pocket.

"This is a Keystone girlie. In order to get home, you need to collect four of them in total. Didn't that voice tell you that?" Looking even more confused, the girl scratched the top of her head.

"No. I wasn't told anything like that." Putting on a smile, she put her hands on her hips and straightened her posture. "What I was told is that there are people out there who have darkness in their hearts! People who have forgotten the power of love!" There it is. My bad feeling about her turned out to be right after all. This girl was in a world of her own.

"Come on Hector. Let's get out of here." Pocketing my hands, I didn't want to be around the weirdo any longer. Without another word I started to walk off.

"Wait, where are you going?" Choosing not to interact with her any longer I kept walking. "You're gonna leave just like that? I wasn't done talking yet!" Catching up to me, she grabbed at my arm. Turning around I shook her off.

"What's your problem!? Why don't you go play pretend somewhere else! I have something important to do so don't get in my way again!" Instead of flinching away like I expected her to, the weird girl stood her ground.

"So they were right! There are people who have forgotten the power of love!" Just what was she talking about? Striking a pose, the girl looked me in the eyes. "My name is Heart Aino! No matter what it takes, I will make sure to help you remember the power of love once more!" You've got to be kidding me.

"I don't know about you Umbra, but I say we keep her around!" Whipping my head over to face Hector, I sent him a death glare. "She could be useful." Useful? What about her made her look useful? "Besides I think she's right. You do kinda have an attitude problem." After saying that he tried to hold back laughter. Now I saw what he was doing. The sadist just wanted to see me suffer.

"Then it's decided! I'll travel with you until your heart has remembered the power of love!" No. That's not how things worked.

"You can't just decide something like this by yourself! You're not coming with!" Not backing down Heart still had a smile on her face. From behind me I could hear Hector start to break a little. He was letting a laugh slip out every now and then.

"Did you already forget Umbra? I said we should keep her around. That's two against one." Nodding her head in agreement, Heart gave a thumbs up. This can't be happening right now. There's no way any of this is real. I'm back at Beacon, bleeding to death.

"You know what? Fine! I don't care! Let's just go already!" Jamming my hands back into my pockets I stormed off. Why did I have to get stuck with freaks? If I was forced to be stuck here with someone, I would have preferred Cinder. Sure, I still didn't like her. But at least she'd be quiet.

* * *

"Guys, I'm back!" Returning to the spot where Ruby had left the others, she had both Yang and Blake in-tow with her. Looking around, the only one she could spot was Weiss. "Weiss? Where's Umbra and uh… The other guy?" Standing up from her seat, Weiss walked over to the group.

"They left. Umbra got impatient and left with _the other guy_." Crossing her arms, Weiss scowled at the thought of those two. "In my opinion it's for the best that they left. The two of them are nothing but murderers." Bringing her hands together, Ruby started fidgeting.

"I know you don't like him Weiss… But we have to work together. It's not like Umbra hasn't helped us before." Huffing, Weiss rolled her eyes.

"The one time he helped us, we got in trouble! Because he killed those White Fang members we got lectured! I would have preferred if he hadn't helped us that night!" Lowering her gaze, Ruby looked away from Weiss. "Don't even get me started on Hector… What that man has done is irredeemable." Stepping up next to her sister, Yang put a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"I agree with Ruby Weiss. Right now, who cares what they did? What really matters is getting home." Yang put on a smile. "One we get home, then we'll deal with them." To drive the point home, she punched her fists together. "Besides. We know how to take Umbra down. If we did it once, we can do it again!" Throwing her two cents in, Blake spoke up.

"Having Umbra and Hector on our side would make things a lot easier Weiss. Either way, Hector's the one with the Keystone. Right?" Still not fully convinced, Weiss let out a sigh.

"Very well. But when this turns out to be a bad idea, don't complain to me." With all four members agreeing, Team RWBY was on the same page again. Now all that was left was to find out where exactly Umbra and Hector went off to.

* * *

"What's it like where you're from? How many friends do you have? Why do you carry around so many weapons?" Even if they were from another world, it would seem as though there would always be someone to annoy me. With each question that Aino asked, I could feel my patience wearing thin. Clenching my fists, I looked over at the girl.

"Hey, Heart. Uh. Aino. Whatever. Let's play a game. Both of us are going to stay _real_ quiet. Whoever talks first, loses. How does that sound?" Before she said something she caught herself. Smiling, she gave a thumbs up. Finally. Some peace and quiet. Why did I never think about using this trick on Ruby? While looking at Aino I noticed a taller building behind her. Looking up I could see railing at the top.

"Hey Hector, look up there. I bet we could get a look of the from up there." Even if we couldn't see much, it was worth a shot. I was getting tired of wandering aimlessly.

"Umbra you talked! That's a win for me!" Pumping her fist into the air, Aino celebrated her victory. Scowling, I buried my face into my palm.

"Yes. Yes it is Aino. Let's play again." Hector started laughing at my misery. With scowl still on my face, the three of us climbed the building.

Once we reached the roof I took a look around. From what I could see, it looked like it was a food court of some kind. Up above the moon and stars were out in full. Walking over to the railing I stared up at the stars. It was a comforting sight. Wherever we were, at least the stars looked the same. Slowly lowering my gaze I looked over the town. To my disappointment, I couldn't seen any fighting from where we were. Turning back around to find Hector and Aino, I nearly fell backwards over the railing from shock.

"Greetings. My name is Rachel Alucard." Without making a sound, a child had managed to sneak up on me. Her posture and the way she spoke reminded me of Weiss. Even though she was shorter then me, I couldn't help but feel like she was looking down on me. How was that even possible?

"My my Umbra. You're really good at making friends." Hector could go screw himself. The last thing I wanted was another friend like Weiss. Not only that, but this girl was kind of creepy.

"Laugh while you still can Hector. Keep pissing me off, and you'll find out what happens. Trust me when I say that I'm keeping track." Hector only smirked. No matter how hard I try to hide any weakness around him, he still refuses to take me seriously.

"We'll see about that… Now for what's really important." Reaching into his pocket, Hector pulled out our Keystone. "Little girl, do you have one of these?" When Hector pulled out the Keystone Rachel's eyes locked onto it.

"I was about to ask the three of you that very question. Seeing as how you do have one, I request that you give it to me." Using my Semblance I moved in-between her and the Keystone. Just like that, tension started to build.

"Sorry, but that's not happening. If you want it…" Drawing Shadow Rose, I pointed my blade at her. "Then you'll just have to come and take it." I had to hand it to her. At least she didn't demand we handed our Keystone over. At least she 'requested' that we did.

"Hold it! You can't fight like this! The teams aren't even!" There was that voice again. Trying to look for her would be a waste of time. The important thing right now was keeping my eye on the creepy girl. "This is quite the predicament. You two seem real determined to fight each other. Hmmm." Waiting for that stupid voice to give me the green light to fight, I shifted into my stance. Right foot back, both hands on the handle and blade pointed forward. "Aha! Umbra, Hector. You two seem to have someone following you that's not from your original world. It wouldn't entirely be against the rules to have them join Rachel… Or course if they win, the Keystone would go to Rachel. Just to keep things fair." What would keep Aino from throwing the fight?

"This is my chance! Umbra, I'll show you just how strong the power of love really is!" What was with her and the power of love? Seriously. Running over to Rachel's side, Aino put her fists up. "Just so you know Umbra I'll be going all out! So I expect you to do the same." She was going to regret telling me that. Stepping away from Hector, Aino and I gave him and Rachel room to fight.

When we given the okay to fight, Aino and I rushed each other down. Thanks to my sword, I had the advantage in reach. This allowed me to get the first hit in. After attacking her with a flurry of slashes I finished with a strong strike that sent her flying back. Slipping into the shadows I chased after her. Sending her up with an upward slash I went to follow my attack up. She countered me however with some weird kick that left a pink trail.

Punching me back she followed up with a pink laser. There was more to this girl then I thought. Instead of falling down to the ground I used my Semblance to catch me. When I came back to the real world I was attacked by homing pink orbs. Not letting me recover she rushed in to keep the pressure up. Trying to use my Semblance to escape the assault, I was surprised when it didn't work. Did my Aura shatter without me knowing? Finding a gap in her assault I blocked her next few attacks with Shadow Rose. Surprising her I kicked her back. Drawing Lunar Eclipse I rushed her down with both swords out. Not long after, the win went to me. So much for the power of love…

Unsurprisingly Hector was done with his fight as well. Sheathing both Shadow Rose and Lunar Eclipse I walked over to Hector. To my annoyance, Rachel didn't have a Keystone of her own. She probably thought the three of us would be easy targets to steal from. Considering how Hector just showed it off so casually. It was the second time he's done that. If someone managed to snatch it from him and get away, I was going to beat him within an inch of his life. Then when his wounds healed, do it again.

"That didn't go quite as I had hoped." Crossing my arms, I stood in front of Hector. Just in case. "Very well then. I shall leave the three of you in charge of this Keystone. Until next time, do not let it fall into the wrong hands." In other words, she was going to go find someone stronger to team up with. She didn't want us losing to someone even stronger in the meantime. Watching her leave I let my arms fall to my side. With nothing left to do, we left.

"You did really good Umbra! I'm glad you didn't hold back against me." Aino was starting early it looked like. "But I think you forgot about something else." I forgot about something? What could I have possibly forgotten abou-

"Umbra there you are!" Every time with her! Using my Semblance to escape from Ruby's death grasp, I dusted myself off once I was free. "You ran off before I could bring Yang and Blake back!" It was almost as if I didn't have time to be sitting around…

"Can you cut that crap out Ruby? I'm sick of being tackled. You're like a lost puppy happy to see it's owner. Did I ever mention to you that I'm not the fondest of dogs either?" It… Wasn't entirely true. But she didn't need to know that.

"Ruby would you quit running ahead of us? We're supposed to be a team." Looking over I could see the rest of Team RWBY approach. Ah. How I've missed them so. Not. As usual, Weiss was wearing a frown. Stealing a glance Hector's way, I could see that he was wearing a smirk. That son of a-

"Uh, Umbra. Who's that?" Following Ruby's finger, I looked at who she was pointing at. Panic washed over me when I saw who it was. Vanishing with the use of my Semblance, I reappeared in front of Aino. The last thing I wanted was for Ruby and Aino to talk to each other. If those two were to become friends, the world would be done for.

"No one. She's just some girl that won't stop following us." That wasn't a lie. I was never on board with her tagging along. The only reason Hector let her was to torment me. He couldn't care less about the love obsessed weirdo.

"My name is Heart Aino! You can just call me Aino. As for why I'm following these two, I'm trying to teach Umbra about the power of love!" Slamming my hand into my face, I sighed. It was over. There was no point in living anymore.

"Wait, what?" To my surprise, Ruby didn't seem to understand her either. Looking up I could see a range of reactions. Ruby was confused, Weiss was shacking her head, Yang was doubled over laughing and Blake with all her emotions of one just stared. Though I could have sworn something about her was different…

"Umbra's heart was overtaken by darkness. It's my duty to show him the power of love and bring his dark heart into the light!" Why was she like this? Seeing Ruby's face light up my worst fears were realized. If this world hadn't tampered with my Semblance I would have booked it. Not only was there a stupid cool down before I could use it again, but the time I was able to stay in the shadow world before it start to hurt was reduced.

"Ohhhh. I get it now!" I was tempted to see what would happen to me if I used my Semblance for too long. Walking past me, Aino and Ruby started to talk. We were going to be here all night… Wasting precious time… Looking over I watched as Hector lit up another cigarette. He had to be about empty by now. Right? Sighing I crossed my arms. It was going to be awhile…


	3. Crimson Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kept ya waiting, huh? References aside, sorry for the delay for anyone waiting for more. I said I'm going to finish this, so that's what I'm going to do! Chapter wise, I think I only have enough material for two more chapters at most. Sadly, I had to cut down on this chapters size. Normally, I write at least 2,500 words per chapter. But seeing as how there isn't a whole lota story in Cross Tag, there isn't much for me to go off of. Either way, I'll try and get the next few chapters out in a few weeks instead of a few months now. Until next time, have a good one and stay safe.

Pacing back and forth I was starting to get annoyed. Ruby and Aino had been talking to each other for what felt like hours. At this rate, I'd never get home. More importantly, I'd never get to take out Hector and Eliza. Speaking of Hector, I took a glance over at him. Smoking yet another cigarette, he had a bored expression on his face. He hasn't been taking things seriously from the beginning, so it wasn't surprising. Looking over at Ruby and Aino, I let out a sigh.

"Alright, I'm sick of waiting around. I'm off to find the other Keystones." Even if getting home wasn't Ruby's top priority, I didn't share that sentiment.

"Umbra wait! We should work together, as a team!" The last thing I wanted was to be stuck with both Ruby _and_ Aino. If it was just one of them, I could tune them out after awhile. But if both of them were around I don't think I could stand it. I had to come up with something fast.

"If you really want to work together, then how about this. Why don't we break into three groups of two? Only two people are needed to fight." There were six of us here, so that gave us three teams. With three teams looking for Keystones, we'd be done in no time.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this… But I agree with Umbra." Out of everyone on Team RWBY, Weiss seemed to be the smartest one of them. If it wasn't for her snobby and standoffish nature, I would at least be able to tolerate her.

"Well if we're splitting back up, then Blake and I will head back to where we were before Ruby brought us here." After saying that Yang flashed a wide smile. Her partner remained as her usual self. It seemed like Blake was just like Hector on the outside. She didn't care what the plan was.

"Okay. I guess we could split up. But what do we do when we find a Keystone? How do we find you guys?" That… Was a good question. It was something I hadn't thought about. I was surprised that it was Ruby of all people who brought it up. I guess she wasn't leader of her team for nothing. Things went silent as we all thought of what to do. Flicking his cigarette butt away, Hector snapped his fingers and spoke up.

"I just remembered something. That voice told me that once we collected all the Keystones, we were supposed to bring them to some gate or something. There's four in total and we already have one. If all three teams find at least one Keystone and meet up at that gate, we'll be good to go." It was decided then. We'd split up into three groups and find a Keystone each. Finally things were starting to look up.

"Alright! Now that we have a plan, let's set it in motion! Let's go Umbra and Hector!" Pumping her fist into the air, Aino seemed to be full of energy. Though I think she was forgetting about something…

"Aino… You're not from our world. You do realize you don't get anything out of helping us, right?" Not losing her smile she put both her hands on her hips.

"That's where you're wrong Umbra! My task is to warm your cold, dark heart!" Would she just shut up about hearts and love already? "So long as I do that I'll be able to return to my world!" I really couldn't tell which hyperactive child was worse. Aino, or Ruby.

"Fine! Let's just go already, I just want to get this over with!" Storming off, I didn't even bother to wait for Hector or Aino. Which in hindsight wasn't such a good idea. I at least needed Hector with me. As much as I didn't want to admit it…

* * *

Making our way through the creepy town, I couldn't help but feel as though we were being watched. Ever since we stepped foot in this place actually. It didn't help that camera's were strewn all throughout the town. Was whoever it was behind this sick game watching us? Eventually we came across a tall building that looked like a school. More of those shadow people were around. Not just that, but it changed to day. What looked like TV panels loomed high above as well. That, or the sky itself was made of TV's. I'd… Rather not think about that right now…

"Hey, this place kinda reminds me of my school! If only a little…" Aino spoke up and broke the silence. "That reminds me, do you go to school Umbra? What does your school look like?" Not more questions. Anything but that. Before she could go on someone interrupted her. Out of nowhere, we were attacked by some guy with long red hair.

"Damn, I missed!" Drawing Shadow Rose I put myself between him and Aino. Recovering from his miss the red haired creep stood up tall. "Get ready, cuz I won't miss twice!" He charged forward with what looked like weapons made of his own blood. Just as we were about to collide, both of us froze.

"That's twice now that you've tried to break the rules young man." It wasn't even my fault this time! And who did she think she was talking to!? "You can only fight in pairs! Duos! Two on two! Do you understand?" Treating me like a child… I should…

"Did I hear something about a fight?" The creeps were really coming out of the woodwork. First some freak that used his own blood as a weapon, and now this guy? "Whoever needs a companion, I wouldn't mind joining in on the fun." His smile was fake.

"I don't need anyone! I'll fight both these losers by myself!' So I'm a loser now eh? "You know what, I'll take you all on by myself!" This guy was missing a few screws.

"I'm afraid that all fights must be done in pairs. If you wish to fight, you'll need the kind gentleman's help." Scoffing, the red haired freak rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." Eventually he coincided. Finally we could get things rolling.

"Wonderful! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hazama. May I ask what your name is sir?" The snake tipped his hat. As he did so the force I felt holding me back disappeared.

"The name's Carmine. Just don't get in my way and I won't kill you. Yet." I growled. His name… There's no way a monster like him could have a name like that. Like hers…Sheathing Shadow Rose, I chose to use Lunar Eclipse instead.

"Aino. Stay back. Hector. Carmine's mine. Don't you dare interfere." Gripping tightly onto Lunar Eclipse's handle, I got into my combat stance. Sitting there, I waited for System, or whatever Ruby called it, to begin the countdown. With each number that went by I tensed up more and more. Finally, after getting the go ahead, I sprang into action. With the sun behind the school, I would still be able to use my Semblance. If only in specific locations.

Using my Semblance I got in the monsters face off the bat. In a flash I unsheathed Lunar Eclipse, getting the first hit in. Slicing him up a bit, I pulled out Solar Eclipse and extended my combo. It was rare for me to use even one of her weapons, but using both Eclipse's at the same time was new to me.

Carmine Eventually broke out of my attack and used and attack of his own. Since he used his blood as a weapon, it was difficult to get a read on him. It didn't help that I was angry. Because of those two things I ended up taking a few hits. When he was done attacking, Carmine looked a little pale. Probably from expending too much of his own blood.

I felt a rush of power flow over me. Rushing over to Carmine I grabbed onto him and dragged him into the shadow world with me. In here I was able to move faster. Running past him I slashed at him. Repeating the process I picked up speed with each pass. Eventually I launched him up into the air. As I did so I brought us both back into the real world. With a spin I slashed the freak towards the ground. With that, the match was mine.

"Way to go Umbra." Looking up I could see Hector clapping slowly. "I technically lost my match, so I left everything up to you there." Lost? What did he mean by lost?

"I find it hard to believe that you lost to someone like that." Sheathing Lunar Eclipse I pointed to Hazama. With that fake smile on his face he waved at me.

"Well, the guy wasn't trying so I figured I wouldn't either. It ended in a tie." I guess that would make sense. Of course someone like Hector would consider a tie a loss. "Now unless one of you guys have a Keystone, you can get outta my sight." Groaning, Carmine started to get back up.

"Now way am I going anywhere. I demand a rematch!" Before he could fully get up however, Hazama stomped on him and knocked him out.

"I can't speak for my partner here, but I do not posses a Keystone. But seeing as how I lost fair and square, I'll be taking my leave now." With a tip of his hat, the snake left. I guess no matter what world you're from, you're bound to run into a few freaks.

"Guess I'll search the guys pockets then…" Sounding less then happy, Hector volunteered to search Carmines pocket's for a Keystone. Didn't he say that since he was the only fully trained Huntsman, the important things fell on him? Bet he's eating those words now. After patting him down Hector came out empty handed. "Nothing. Guess we should get going then." For once me and Hector agreed on something.

Leading the way I continued the search for more Keystones. At the very least we were one of the teams that started with a Keystone. We only needed three more of them to get out of here. Though at the same time if you lose just one battle, you could lose everything. All you'd have to do is find the person who collected all four Keystones and defeat them. Here's to hoping the others don't mess this up.


	4. Old Faces, New Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told ya I could get it done within a few weeks! Not only that, but I was able to write more than 2,500 words this time. 3,456. Hopefully this makes up for the 1,700 some last time. Until next time, have a good one and stay safe.

Eventually the three of us made it out of that weird town. No more TV's, camera's or shadowy people. Now, we were at some snowy village. Once again it was nighttime. Just what was up with the time in this place? Not only that, but the weather as well. Nothing about whatever this world was made sense.

"Hey Umbra this place reminds me of Solitas." Taking a quick glance back at Hector I didn't bother to respond.

"What's Solitas? Is that where you two are from?" Aino however, being the snoop she was, decided that now would be a great time to get some answers.

"Nah. It was one of the continents on our planet though. And before you ask, it's called Remnant." Scowling, I tuned both of them out. I didn't need a history lesson on things I already knew. What I didn't understand is why Hector was bothering in the first place. He didn't get anything out of telling Aino all this stuff. Whatever. It was his time to waste. I could care less really.

"Isn't that right Umbra?" Breaking me from my thoughts, Hector threw his arm around my shoulder. Shrugging him off I shot him a glare. "Hey, I was just complementing you." Did we really have to do this again?

"What is it going to take for me to get this through that thick skull of yours? We. Aren't. Friends." I was tempted to just go hunt for the Keystones with Aino. We only had to find one anyways. Hector could screw off and do whatever until then.

"Did something happen between you two? Whenever Hector talks to you Umbra you always get angry." Oh? What gave that away? "Maybe… If whoever was in the wrong apologized…" Apologized. Apologized?

"Just shut up! You really wanna know what happened huh!? Well fine! That sack of shit over there was someone I used to look up to! Someone I wanted to be just like him when I grew up! He even taught me how to fight! But then… I learned the truth… The last thing he taught me, was that you really can put a price on life. Not only did he kill my mother… But he abandoned an entire city and left it to it's doom. I've been on a journey for revenge ever since I learned. If it wasn't for the fact that only one other person involved in my mothers death was still alive in my world, I wouldn't be working with Hector." She thought a simple apology would be enough? Well now she knew. Then again a kid like her probably couldn't understand.

It made me sick that I was forced to work with Hector in order to get out of here. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of getting to fight him once we got back. Not that I had any chance against him in the first place. I was just as likely to kill Eliza as I was Hector. Going after either was a suicide mission really. Not that it mattered in the end. A peaceful death was never an option for me after I made my choice.

"Umbra. I'm sorry." Catching me off guard, Aino hugged me. I used my Semblance to get away.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. Either way, I don't care that much about words. Actions speak louder." Be it sorry or thank you, I didn't care much about either. If someone was truly sorry or thankful, they'd show it. Though even then you could never be certain. Looking over at Aino I saw that she had lost her smile for the first time since I met her.

"Both of you. We got company." Before anything more could be said, Hector interrupted. Just as he said, two people were walking towards us. Some weird looking lady with black and white clothes and a tall guy with a scythe.

"Hey, it's nice to meet some friendly faces." How did he know we were friendly? Trying not to be suspicious about it, I reached down and lazily draped my hand over Lunar Eclipses Handle. "The name's Gordeau. This is my friend Hilda." Putting on an act, Hector smiled.

"I'm Hector. This is my son Umbra, and the girl is Aino." I really wish he would stop saying that. Did we have to act friendly in the first place? It's not like we were sent here to make friends. We were going to fight anyway, and whoever lost would be stuck here.

"If you don't mind, I've got a quick question for you. You see, we're looking f-" Before Gordeau could finish he was cut off by System.

"Would you look at that! Five perfectly healthy contestants ready to fight!" Great. Not too long after our last fight, we're being forced to fight again.

"Do we have to? We were kinda in the middle of something ya know?" Gordeau seemed to share that sentiment. But annoying as it was, there was a chance that they had a Keystone. No way was I going to potentially miss out on that. Unsheathing Shadow Rose I got into my combat stance.

"Wait, let me fight with you Umbra!" Aino jumped in next to me.

"What? No way. Get back and let me and Hector handle this." She wasn't just any ordinary girl, I knew that, but I didn't want to risk anything. Hector was garbage, but at least I knew he'd win his fight. So long as he actually tried that was…

"You know what? Sure Aino. Take my place. I'm pretty tired from the last fight anyway." What!? "I'll just sit back and watch. You got this Aino!" I can't believe him. Did he even knew what was at stake here? As for Aino, why was she so accepting of praise from a killer?

"Alright! Let's do this Umbra!" Guess it was settled… Letting the countdown start I rushed in when we were give the go. I went after Hilda while Aino took on Gordeau.

Hilda caught me off guard in the beginning. She fought somewhat similar to Carmine, but instead of using her own blood, she used what looked like the shadows. Choosing not fight me at close range she used her abilities to keep me away. Without my Semblance, I don't think I would have been able to get close enough to her.

After taking a beating I moved in with my Semblance. Popping in next to her I swung Shadow Rose down. Bouncing her off the ground I followed my attack up with a few more slashes. Ending with an upward slash I went to follow. Hilda recovered however and used her abilities to push me back. I did my best to dodge as many as I could but one of her attacks finally landed. Getting tossed around like this wasn't something I was too fond of. When she let up I had to take a moment to catch my breath. Even though I couldn't be certain, I felt as if my Aura was close to running out. If I didn't end things quick, this could be bad…

"Don't worry Umbra! I'll help!" Sending a punch at Hilda, Aino came to help. But wasn't she fighting Gordeau? Looking over at where they were fighting I saw that he was kneeling. From the looks of it, he lost. Feeling a burst of energy I focused back on my battle. I guess this wasn't technically against the rules. I mean, it's not like someone else jumped into the fight. Rushing in next to Aino, we did a combo attack against Hilda. Juggling her back and forth, there wasn't much she could do. With one final attack we sent her flying up. When she came back down it didn't look like she was able to fight anymore. The victory was ours.

"Yes! I knew we could do it! High five Umbra!" Aino raised her hand up for a high five. Ignoring her I sheathed Shadow Rose. "That was so much fun! It was a lot more fun than fighting against you!" Not missing a beat, she let the high five go. Glancing over at Hector and the others I could see that they were talking. As for what they were talking about, I couldn't be sure.

"You can quit trying Aino. I don't want to be your friend." Going back to scanning the town, I didn't want another freak like that Carmine guy sneaking up on us. "Either way, I'm just as bad as Hector. You don't want to be friends with me in the first place." Putting on a bigger smile Aino pointed at me.

"Now I know that's a lie! If you're so bad, why are you friends with someone like Ruby?" She thought me and Ruby were friends? She needed glasses if that's what she thought.

"Don't be stupid. Me and Ruby aren't friends. I don't have friends. I don't _need_ friends." Having friends would just be another annoyance that I didn't need. The last thing I wanted was someone slowing me down or getting in my way.

"You say that, but I can see right through you Umbra!" Could she now? The answer was no. "And as much as you deny it, I know you see me as a friend too. That means I'm making progress!" It was as if I attracted crazy people. Whatever. She could think what she wanted.

Hector was still talking with those two people we fought. Which meant he was wasting my time. Pulling the Keystone out of his pocket he showed it to them. He really loved showing that thing off, didn't he? Suddenly, someone snatched it out of his hand. Not Hilda or Gordeau, but someone else. Before I could get a look at them were gone.

"Hey, get back here!" That idiot! He shouldn't have been flashing it around like that! The person who stole the Keystone appeared nearby. Using my Semblance I chased after them. Since they were alone, I wouldn't be able to fight them to get it back. I'd just have to steal it like they did.

Whoever I was chasing they were fast. The way they were moving made me think that they were toying with me. That, or they were leading me into a trap. My chase eventually led me out of the village and into a forest. I had to dodge trees while also keeping an eye on the thief. When I did lose sight of them I panicked. Stopping in my tracks I frantically looked around, hoping that I could catch a glimpse of them or their trail. That's when something cold hit my head.

"What the-" Another one hit me. Looking up, I could see the thief standing on a branch. It was a girl with weird hair and matching eyes. She had a smug look on her face and was holding the Keystone. Tossing it up and catching it she was taunting me. "Give that back! If you want that you have to fight us for it!" The girl didn't say anything. Instead, she jumped down to my level. She tossed the Keystone back at me and I caught it. Confused, I looked back at her. "Who are you?" Why did she steal the Keystone only to give it back?

As if it should have been obvious as to who she was, she gave me a look. Twirling her parasol around she opened it and hid behind it. When she closed it she looked like a different person. Wait a minute… Black hair. Green eyes. Creepy smile. She was…

"Neo? You're here too? If you're here, does that mean Cinder is as well?" Neo shrugged. Guess that means that if she was here, nobodies run into her yet. I'd rather not run into that women here. Not that I was any happier to see Neo. After all, I don't know what her allegiance was to Cinder. Then again I _was_ working with Hector. Why not get all my enemies in one place eh? "Next time, just say something. Wait no, there isn't going to be a next time. So forget I said that." With the Keystone back in my possession I made my way back to Hector and Aino.

"Umbra, I see you caught the thief." What was he talking about? How would he know that? "Did she give the Keystone back?" Wait a minute. Turning around I could see that Neo had followed me back. Giving an innocent looking smile, she waved.

"Oh? Is that another one of your friends Umbra?" Of course Aino would think she was a friend. With her, everyone I didn't explode at must have been my friend.

"She isn't my friend. I already told you that I don't have any friends!" I was about to send Neo away when I got an idea. "Seeing as how we've picked up another team member, we should split up again." Four teams were better then three teams. "Neo, Hector, you two can head back to that town. Aino and I will keep moving forward." I hated Hector and just like Blake, Neo gave me the creeps. So even though Aino was annoying, she was the most tolerable of the three.

"Sorry kid. No can do." Crossing his arms Hector stared me down. "If you want to split up, you have to give me the Keystone. I'm not going to leave it in some unreliable kids hands." Unreliable? I've won more fights then he has so far! He even threw a fight because he was bored!

"No way! You let it get stolen just a few minutes ago! If it wasn't for the fact that Neo was from our world, we might not have seen it again!" It was staying with me. "If anyone here's unreliable it's you!" For more than one reason. Well, Aino and Neo could always become a team. It wasn't a desirable outcome, but it was something at least.

"Well I can't leave, my job is to save your icy heart!" Oh. That's right. Must've forgotten about that, considering I didn't care and all.

"Guess that means were stuck as a team of four. It's almost like I'm back at Beacon." All that was left was for him to kill one of us… Then it'd truly be just like the old days. Not wanting to fight about it any longer I scowled. Setting off, it was on to the next location.

* * *

Our next stop ended with a dead end. Along the way Aino tried to talk to Neo. But as we all eventually found out, Neo didn't talk. So it turned into Aino rambling to herself for the most part.

Currently, I had no idea where we were. It looked like a port, but not one I had ever seen. Looking over the edge I was met with clouds instead of water. Because of the clouds, I couldn't see the bottom. Scanning the area I didn't see anyone. Just how many people were here in the first place? As I was about to move on, I spotted two people. Well, one person in red and one… Cat… Thing…

"Excuse me, are you Umbra and Hector by any chance?" There was a lot for me to take in. First, I knew of the faunus. But they were humans with animal like traits. Not animals with human like traits! Secondly, why was it talking? And finally, it knew our names.

"That depends. Who's asking?" Hector walked past me and stood up front. He stared down the cat and man. Annoyed, the man in red stepped forward.

"Listen our names don't matter. What does matter is that one of our friends told us that you have something we need." They were friends with someone we fought? That was the only thing I could think of. Because that something they needed… "Just hand over the Keystone and we can get this over with." Unsheathing Shadow Rose I stepped forward.

"If you want the Keystone that bad, you're gonna have to fight us for it." I wasn't about to give my only way home to some stranger.

"It looks like a heated battle is about to begin!" Without fail, System showed up. "You all know the rules! Get into teams of two and prepare for battle!" Hector unsheathed Decimation and got into his stance.

"Umbra, let me handle both of them. I have a bad feeling about them… Just hold the guy off for as long as you can." There he went looking down on me again. Mirroring Hector I got into my stance. Facing the white haired guy I focused on him. When the countdown ended I charged forward. It was still night so I had full control over my Semblance. Well, as much as this world allowed that was.

Appearing in front of him the two of us clashed. Both of us slid back. Going in for another attack we clashed again. For awhile neither of us got a good hit in. When I was able to use my Semblance again I appeared behind the guy and got a sneak attack in. Unsheathing Lunar Eclipse as well I went all out. This guy was strong so I couldn't slip up even once. Slashing away with both Shadow Rose and Lunar Eclipse I ended with a strong slash with both swords.

Flying back he caught himself. He rushed back towards me and attacked. Dodging backwards I barely got out of the way. Swinging his giant cleaver of a sword around I had to go on the defensive. Blocking each swing took a huge amount of effort. It felt like I was fighting Hector when he wasn't holding back.

My guard broke and he landed a hit on me. I tried to use my Semblance to get out of the attack but it was no good. Before I could even recover he was back on me. Each hit took a chunk of my Aura with it. When it felt like my Aura was about to shatter, I felt one last surge of power. From here on out, everything I did was on pure instinct. Breaking out of his combo with my Semblance I rushed him down again. Sending him up into the air I followed him with my Semblance. Keeping the both of us in the air I used my Semblance over and over again. I knew I was overusing my Semblance as I could feel that invisible weight start to crush me.

Running out of steam, I felt my Aura shatter. Falling to the ground I stood up on shaky legs. The guy in red could see I was weak. Moving in he hit me with one last attack. His attack sent me back and made the Keystone fly out of my pocket. I was too tired to reach for it. It was all on Hector now. Just like he said it'd be…

"That's another one Jūbei. We've got three now!" Walking over to me he picked up the Keystone. "Sorry I had to do this kid, but you made things difficult." Looking over to Hector I could see that he was laid out just like me. We lost.

"Nice work Ragna. Now let's get this back to Rachel." Rachel? Why did I know that name… Without another word Ragna and Jūbei left. With our Keystone. And it sounded like they already took one from someone else, leaving them with three. They only needed one more.

"Are you okay Umbra!?" Running over to me Aino tried to help me up. It took a lot of effort, but eventually I was able to stand with her help.

"We have to… Go after them…" They couldn't get away with our Keystone! That was the only way home! The only way I could fully get my revenge! "Hector! We have to…" Trying to chase after Ragna and his friend, I fell back onto the ground. Hector slowly got up as I fell.

"Umbra!" I had to push myself! I had to get up! "Umbra you can't chase after them like this! You need to rest!" I couldn't rest, not now! Once we had our Keystone back I would rest! This couldn't be happening, I refused to believe that Hector and I lost! That we were losing our only way home! As I struggled against Aino to get back up, I felt my energy fade. My vision was starting to blacken and my eyelids were getting heavier. Not having the energy to struggle anymore, I let sleep take me. Did I really push myself that far? Just how strong were those two?


	5. Burning Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I want to say right away that... I wouldn't be against a rewrite of this. I'm not really all that happy with this fic's current state. It's probably pretty obvious, but there's some missing content that I just couldn't find a way to include smoothly. If enough people ask for it, I would definitely rewrite this with more characters and their POV's. If you read this far and enjoyed it, thank you very much! Until next time, have a good one and stay safe.

As I started to wake up I tried to get back up. Opening my eyes I could barely see. Everything was blurry. Standing over me was a person. I couldn't tell who though. When they knelt down I was finally able to make out who it was. Leaning over me was none other then Carmine. She was still alive! That meant everything I had been through had just been a nightmare. It had to be. Once my vision started to clear however, my happiness went away. The one standing above me with a look of concern wasn't Carmine, but Ruby. Of course it was.

"Umbra, you're awake!" Ruby was one of the last people I wanted to see right after waking up. "Are you okay?" Standing up I remembered the events that led to now.

"Just fine." Now that I was able to walk, there was somewhere I had to be. "Hector, let's go." As I called out to Hector Ruby's face went from concerned to surprised.

"Wait where are you going Umbra?" It wasn't her problem to worry about. Walking up to us Hector crossed his arms.

"It's not a good idea Umbra. What you're planning. It won't work." What did he just say? "Before you go off and get yourself hurt, you should listen to something the girl has to say." Just like always he was looking down on me. I lose one battle, and it comes back full force. It's not like he did any better!

"Shut up! You lost just like I did!" That Ragna guy might've won the first time, but he won't win against me a second! "Now quit wasting time and let's go!" There wasn't any time for this.

"I told you Umbra, it's not a good idea." Scoffing I went to go after Ragna and Jūbei myself. If he didn't want to come with, then I'd just take Aino. She'd be more then happy to help me.

"Fine. If you're too scared, then I'll go myself. Aino. Let's go." Looking around I spotted the pink haired girl. She was standing next to Neo and didn't budge from her spot. "Well Aino? Are you going to help me or not!?" Aino flinched a little after I yelled at her.

"I… Agree with Hector Umbra. It's not a good idea." Her too huh? There had to be someone here that would help me get the Keystone back! If Ruby was here, then that meant Weiss was as well. Rain started to trickle in as I looked back at Ruby and Weiss.

"What about you Ruby!? Weiss!? Someone!?" Ruby refused to look at me and Weiss was giving me a dirty look. Guess that ruled them out. That was when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Neo. How ironic that neither of the people that considered themselves my friend would help me, but Neo would. Someone I would consider an enemy back on Remnant. "You cowards wait here. Me and Neo are going to go get our Keystone back. Along with an additional two." Before I could walk off Hector got in my way.

"Quit acting like a child and listen Umbra!" Angry, I unsheathed Shadow Rose and attacked him. Just as fast Hector brought out Decimation and blocked my attack. "You really want to do this Umbra?" I've wanted nothing more then to kill him since I learned the truth. "Fine then. If you really want to go after those two, then you'll have to prove to me that you can actually beat them!" Both of us backed off and got into our combat stance. Since we both had the same stance, it was like looking into a mirror. Remembering the two vs two rule, Aino jumped into the fight. It was me and Neo vs Hector and Aino. By now the rain was really coming down.

"I was going to wait until we got back to Remnant to kill you…" All my rage reached it's boiling point. I wasn't able to keep it contained any longer. "But I guess I'll just kill you now. It doesn't matter either way to me. Just know this Hector…" Shooting forward I slashed at Hector. He blocked my attack and our swords clashed. "I'm gonna make your death as painful as I can!" Catching Hector off guard I hit him with a surprise attack from Lunar Eclipse. From the start I wasn't going to hold back. I was serious about killing Hector here and now!

Igniting Decimation, it looked like Hector wasn't holding back either. Moving in with my Semblance I tried to attack him from behind. Knowing what I was going to do Hector read my attack. Spinning around he blocked the attack. Fire dripped from off his sword from my attack. Rushing him with a flurry of swipes from both Shadow Rose and Lunar Eclipse Hector was able to block each and every one of my attacks. Frustrated at the lack of progress I sent a sweeping kick to try and knock him off balance. Like all my other attacks so far it didn't do anything. Jumping up high over my kick, Hector came crashing back down with a helm splitter. Blocking his attack I did my best to struggle. The heat from Decimation's flames licked at my face.

"Just give up Umbra! You don't stand a chance!" Mustering all of my strength, I shoved Hector back. After pushing him back I was able to get in a single attack. While it wasn't much, it was a start. Retaliating with an attack of his own Hector sent me flying back. Using my Semblance to recover I moved back in. The exhaustion from my last battle was starting to show itself again. My movements were getting slower and I had to put more effort into my attacks. It looked as though Hector was still tired as well. We fought on through our exhaustion. Neither one of us was willing to give up now. Using all my remaining strength I went to attack Hector with one big attack. Hector did the same.

Our attacks hit and Hector was the one who came out victorious. Kicking me while I was open he sent me crashing backwards. Both Shadow Rose and Lunar Eclipse slipped out of my hands. Still not accepting defeat I stood back up on shaky legs. Raising my fists I ran at Hector. I sent a right hook his way and he caught my fist. Sending a straight with my free hand I went to punch his face. Dropping Decimation Hector caught my other attack.

"It's over Umbra. You lost." Trying to break free from his grasp I kicked at him. "If you go after that Ragna guy and his friend like this, you'll only hurt yourself. Or worse." I haven't lost yet! I could still fight!

"What do you care, huh!? Just get out of my way already! I'm going to go get the Keystone back! Even if I have to do it on my own!" I had to get that Keystone back! I had to return to Remnant!

"Even if you were to go after them, do you know where they went!? And let's say you do find them! What are you going to do!? Fight both of them on your own!? If the rules were to allow that, it still wouldn't be possible! You couldn't even take on one of them! Not to mention the fact that you're exhausted and angry! The fight would be over within seconds!" Deflating, I felt my energy leave me. Falling down to the ground Hector let go of my wrists.

I didn't want to admit it… But Hector was right. Not only did I have no idea where to begin searching for those guys, but I would lose the instant I challenged them. It would take time and effort to find them. By the time I did find them I'd be even more tired then I was now. It was a lost cause. Those people would be able to go home, and we were going to be trapped here.

"Quit crying Umbra. Get up. Just because you can't chase after them, it doesn't mean anythings over yet."Grabbing me by my shoulders, Hector lifted me back up. "You may hate me, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm your father. That makes you a Hart, and us Hart's don't just give up." Hector's motivational speech fell flat. If I didn't have such a poor opinion of him, maybe it would have worked. But right now, I just didn't have the energy to fight anymore. "Now. Are you cooled off, or do I have to beat some more sense into you?" So in the end he still wasn't going all out. His goal was to tire me out.

"I'm done." Brushing Hector off I backed up. With how little energy I had left it was a chore just to stand up. Holding both Shadow Rose and Lunar Eclipse Aino walked up to me. She extended them out to me with a smile. Hesitantly, I took them from her and put my weapons away. "I'm sorry." It didn't mean anything to me, but I knew those words meant something to those around me. If I was really going to show that I was sorry though, I needed to find a way to get us out of here. To my surprise, Aino brought me into a hug.

"It's okay Umbra. I can tell that you've been bottling things up for awhile now. That's why you need to open up to people every once in a while." Annoyed, I tried to push her off. It didn't work though. I just didn't have enough energy left in me. Ruby saw my weak response as an invitation and joined in. Neo was quietly snickering to herself while Hector had a smirk on his face.

"Alright you're pushing it. Get off." They did as I asked and backed off. When I was free from them I brushed myself off. "So. What do we do now? We can't just sit here doing nothing." Even though I was tired, I had to keep moving. At the very least I'd let the others handle any fights until I was rested.

"Well, I was going to tell you something before you and Hector started fighting…" Ruby spoke up. "The whole reason I'm here is because Yang and Blake sent me. They said to gather the others and meet in some city not too far away from that one town." Was she talking about the one with all the shadowy people? Clapping his hands Hector put on a smile.

"That sounds good to me. It's the only play we've got, so let's go. Lead the way Ruby." Ruby nodded her head and took the lead. As everyone else walked past me, I chose to hang near the back. Hector saw this and lagged behind. For awhile the two of us walked side by side in silence.

"Just so you know, I would have won if I was at full power." I didn't want to be seen as weak in front of him. Not because of my pride, but because I wanted to fight him at his full power. If he didn't see me as someone who was strong, he'd never go all out.

"Sure you would have Umbra. Just like all those times we trained together." Slipping my hands into my pockets I ignored him. Once this was all over, I'd show him just how strong I really was.

* * *

Other then the brief conversation I had with Hector, I didn't talk to anyone else along the way. Aino and Ruby however had been chatting since we started our journey. So long as I didn't have to be a part of their conversation, I didn't care. It gave me something to focus on while my Aura came back. Once it did, I would be able to really start recovering.

"Well well well. If it isn't the brats from earlier." It looked as though my wish for an uneventful journey fell on deaf ears. Blocking our way forward was a man wearing a gray suit. He was holding what looked like a revolver.

"You guys know this creep?" My question was targeted at Ruby and Weiss. Unless Neo had run into him at some point, no one in our group had met the guy.

"Uhhh. Well… Weiss and I kindaaaa took his Keystone." Wait. Ruby was the one carrying the final Keystone? "Not him specifically, but his friend. I think his name was Yu? Oh, and his friend Yu called him Adachi." You? That was a weird name. Unless she he had the same name as me. But if that was the case, why didn't she say it like that?

"That doesn't matter right now. Now, hand that Keystone back, or I won't go as easy on you this time." Taking my hands out of my pockets I stepped forward. While I couldn't actually fight, I could look threatening.

"Back off. Whether you give it your all or not, you'd lose any fight you pick now." Now that I knew we had at least one Keystone, I wasn't going to let anyone take it from us. Before I could say anything else Hector shoved me behind him. Since I was still weak, I fell down. Unsheathing Decimation he blocked an attack from another assailant.

"I finally found you again!" Standing their with his arms covered in blood was Carmine. "You may have gotten away last time, but I'm not gonna let that happen again! I'm gonna kill both of you!" Standing back up I glared at the monster.

"Well then Ruby, I guess the fighters are decided. You ready to fight?" Shoving Carmine back, Hector got into his stance. Standing next to him, Ruby took out Crescent Rose. System came just as the four of them were about to fight and started her countdown. Now she shows up. At least, they sounded like a she.

When the countdown finished, they shot off towards each other. Since I had been a part of every battle up until now, it felt weird sitting on the sidelines. It made me feel even weaker. Even though Hector was tired just like me, he was still fighting. Had his Aura even returned yet? If our battle at Beacon hadn't been interrupted, I was pretty certain that he would have killed me. Maybe… It would be better if he did…

"So. You guys know that creep?" Hearing my own words tossed back at me, I looked over to Weiss. "He seems… Unhinged." That was one way of putting it.

"Yeah…" Weiss and I hardly ever talked. The only time we did is when she wanted to remind me that I was a murderer. "You could say that…" It was weird actually talking to Weiss. Looking over at me, Weiss gave me a serious look.

"What's your aim Umbra?" Huh? "Why did you kill those people? Is it because you hate Hunters?" So that's why she wasn't being hostile. She was digging for information. "And… Why did you bother helping those people?" Looks like Weiss was just as curious as Ruby.

"Why do you suddenly care? Does it even matter?" It was strange that Weiss was so interested in my reasoning so suddenly.

"It was your fight with Hector. I just figured…" That since I was related to him, that I was just like him? That we got along? Yeah right.

"I might be a killer like Hector, but unlike him I never killed out of greed. I'd tell you why, but you'd never understand." Someone like Weiss was too high class to understand. A Schnee just wouldn't get it.

The fight that was going on came to a close and interrupted our conversation. The victors were Ruby and Hector. Carmine refused to accept defeat and tried to get back up. In order to stop him, Hector knocked the monster out. That would keep him from chasing us at least for awhile. Knowing that he was outclassed, Adachi left. Not wanting to keep talking to Weiss I walked away from her. With the fight over, we continued heading to whatever city Yang wanted to meet us at.

* * *

As we continued forward I could feel my Aura come back. I was finally able to walk without feeling like I was going to collapse. Fighting Hector without my Aura probably wasn't the smartest move in hindsight.

"Alright! This is the place!" The city Ruby took us to was filled with tall buildings. Wherever you looked there was a skyscraper reaching for the stars. Making our way through the city, we eventually met up with Yang and Blake. They were hanging near what looked like a subway entrance.

"Took ya guys long en-" Stopping mid sentence, Yang looked at Neo. "What is she doing here!" I took it they've met. Putting on an innocent smile, Neo waved at Yang.

"Whatever grudge you two hold against each other, just know that I've been working with Hector…. For the most part…" Yang didn't need to know about our fight. Huffing, the blonde brawler crossed her arms.

"Fine. But I'm keeping my eyes on her." That was fair. "Anyways, Ruby, did you bring it?" Reaching into her pocket, Ruby showed Yang the Keystone she had. "Perfect! Now all we have to do is wait for… Oh. They're here." Following Yang's gaze I looked at who she was talking about. When I spotted who it was, my anger spiked. Red coat. White hair. Before I could rush in to attack him, Hector stopped me.

"Did nothing I say get through to you? You can't beat these people." Sneering, I shrugged Hector off. Instead of rushing in to attack Ragna, I glared at him. At his side was the cat guy Jūbei and a girl. Now I knew why the name Rachel was familiar to me. Both times they were talking about her. She must have sold us out to her friends.

"You guys?" Rubbing the back of his head Ragna looked over at Yang. "If I had known you were friends with them, I wouldn't have attacked you." Nobody said we were friends.

"Here you go Ragna!" Taking out the Keystone, Ruby tossed it over to Ragna.

"No! Ruby, what are you doing!?" Ruby just tossed our only way home to the enemy! Did she hit her head!?

"Relax man. Wait. Don't tell me… You really bought what that voice told you?" Ragna handed the final Keystone over to Rachel. "Didn't you find it suspicious that not one team had the same objective?" The only _team_ I talked to was Aino. And she joined ours. But then again, she did say something about healing hearts or something. There was also Mitsuru and that Akihiko guy. But they didn't say anything about a mission.

"What can I say. She sounded pretty convincing to me." I looked over at Hector. With a straight face he shrugged. "What?" Was he really a fully trained Huntsman? Or was he just an idiot that stumbled his way through Beacon?

"If you fools are done arguing, I would like to get to fixing this whole mess." With her nose turned up Rachel started walking down into the subway. As we were about to follow her, we were attacked.

"You cowards! Stop running from me!" What do you know. It was Carmine again. Alongside him was Gordeau. But… Something wasn't right about Gordeau…

"Go on you guys! Blake and I'll handle these guys!" Volunteering to fight off the monster and Gordeau, Yang and Blake jumped into action. Not wanting to waste time, I followed Rachel and the others. At the bottom of the stairs another opponent was waiting for us. Adachi. Standing next to him was Akihiko. Just like with Gordeau, I couldn't help but feel like something was off about him.

"Keep going guys, Weiss and I got this!" Stepping up to the plate, Ruby and Weiss took on the two standing in our way. While Ruby had fought Adachi two times before, I was worried about how they'd fare against Akihiko. The one time I had fought him I almost lost. And that was with him holding back. After some hesitation, I kept following the others.

Those of us that remained were able to continue on without anymore interruptions. The subway we were in eventually gave way to a white void. The only nearby marker was a massive… Door looking thing… It looked like Rachel said something to Ragna, but I was too far away to be able to hear. Before Rachel could do whatever it was that she was going to do, we were stopped one last time. This time it was a short blonde girl with a giant sword and a giant robot dragon looking thing.

"Hector, Aino, we have to catch up to them!" Without looking at them I ran forward. Ragna and Jūbei started fighting the two before we could get close enough. Rachel took out the four Keystones and started to use them. They started to float above the snobby girl. Shocking those present, someone knocked one of the Keystones down. That person was Hazama.

"Umbra, Hector, it's a pleasant surprise seeing you two here." Unsheathing Shadow Rose I got ready to fight. Hector, Aino and Neo all followed my lead. Each of them got into their respective fighting stances.

"Have you all forgotten? You're not allowed to fight unless it's a two on two!" For awhile, I thought we were done with her. "But then again, I suppose our little game is coming to an end." The Keystone that was knocked to the ground began to vibrate before flying off. The other three that were still floating followed the one that had flown off. A flash of light went off and we were forced to cover our eyes. When I uncovered my eyes, I was met with a giant machine. It's was using the red Keystone, our Keystone, as it's main body.

"You four, I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this, but you need to destroy that thing. Make it fast." This Rachel girl would get along just fine with Weiss…Blocking our path, Hazama got in our way of the machine.

"I'm afraid that I can't let you do that…" If he stood in our way, we wouldn't be able to break that stupid machine.

"Umbra. Hector. Leave this to me." Aino stepped up with her fists raised. "I'll fight this guy so you can take on the machine. For real this time, I'll show you the power of love! The power of the heart!" Aino rushed off to fight Hazama. Shrugging, Neo decided to follow after Aino. Those two should be more then enough for Hazama.

"You better hurry Umbra, or you'll miss out on all the fun!" Hector ran off to fight the machine. Scoffing, I chased after him. I wasn't about to let him hog the spot light!

The machine floated above us. I wasn't fully rested yet, and I wasn't sure if Hector was either. Not to mention that this white void would keep me from using my Semblance. Even though this would be a tough battle, Hector and I charged the machine. This battle was too important to run from now.

"So you two are going to be the ones to face me? Not what I was expecting, but I'm not complaining!" That voice. That thing was System? "The sooner you all rush to your doom, the sooner I cant start conquering other worlds!" That wasn't going to happen! There was still something I had to do back home! Like I was gonna let some stupid tin can ruin that for me!

System threw the first attack. In order to dodge her attack I had to slide under the spinning blade. Hector chose to jump over it. When we got close System used a smaller looking Keystone to shoot fire at us. Dodging to the side I avoided the flames. Unsheathing Lunar Eclipse I wielded both Shadow Rose and Lunar Eclipse. Hector ignited Decimation and got the first hit in. Rushing in with both blades I kept up with Hector. Even with the two of us attacking it, it didn't feel like we were doing much to damage System. Skidding back, Hector blocked one of Systems giant swords.

"Umbra, I've got a plan! I'm going to use my Semblance! Just don't waste this, cuz I don't have much left in me!" Holding his hand up Hector gathered a small black ball above him. After smashing it into the ground a giant sphere of inky darkness surrounded us. Knowing what he was doing, I used my Semblance. Shifting into the shadow world I charged System. With my speed and power I was able to actually start damaging the thing. It wasn't enough though, as when the sphere dropped System was still standing. Though it was sparking now.

"Let's end this Hector. Launch me high enough and I'll crush this thing!" Running at Hector I watched as he prepared Decimation. Turning it's flames off he started to spin in a circle. Jumping in at the right time, I landed on the flat side of Decimation. With one last good spin I jumped at the climax of his toss. Flying high above System, I spun and got ready to fall back down and finish this. Catching me off guard though, System flung one of her swords up and knocked my blades out of my hands.

"Catch Umbra!" Seeing what happened, Hector tossed Decimation up to me. His sword nearly slipped from my hands. In the end I managed to catch it. Gripping Decimation in both hands, I hit it's switch and ignited the blade in flames. On my way back down I left a bright trail. This was it! It was time to go home! Crashing down into System I cleaved the thing in two. Standing back up I tossed Hector his blade back.

"You guys did it!" Aino came running over to us. Neo wasn't far behind her. "That was so cool! You guys should work together like that more often! I don't think anything could stop you!" While Hector laughed I scoffed. This was a one time thing. Looking back at where we came from, I didn't see any sign of Ruby or the others. "Is something wrong Umbra?" Aino followed where I was looking to. "Are you… Worried about the others?" What was she talking about?

"Of course not. They chose to fight. Anything that happened to them was their fault." Hector and I won anyways. So everything would be back to normal any minute now. Crossing my arms, I looked somewhere else. Not that there was much to look at in this void. Before Aino could continue, the ground began to shake and we all stumbled. Hopefully this was supposed to happen…

"Before we part ways, it was nice meeting you Umbra! Maybe we'll meet again someday!?" Knowing my luck, that wasn't out of the question. It looked like she said something else, but I wasn't able to make out her words. Everything became fuzzy, and soon enough I passed out.

* * *

"...ra. Co.. on U…. Ge. up." Opening up my eyes I found myself knocked to the ground. "I know you're not dead yet Umbra. Get up already." Hector. Shooting up I reached for Shadow Rose. Unsheathing my blade I pointed it at Hector. "There we go." When I got up, he smiled. "I thought I killed you for a second there." Looking around I noticed that we were in Beacon. Flames were engulfing our surroundings. Was it all just a dream? Like I thought?

"Shut up old man! I wouldn't let myself be killed by someone like you!" If I was going to die, I'd try and take him with me. Rushing forward to attack Hector, I was forced back before I reached him. A pillar of red lightning nearly struck me. Not having time to relax, I had to dodge another attack from a bunch of shadow blades. Finally, I blocked an attack from a man with green hair. Hazama. That meant that the other two were Adachi and Hilda. What was going on!?

"Look at that! My new friends got here! Just in time too!" Hector started to laugh. All three of the other villains retreated back to Hectors side. "Why do you look so surprised Umbra? Even a bad guy needs friends!" Four on one… If I just focused on Hector, then I could at least take him with me. It didn't matter if I died. All I cared about was taking him with me. Getting into my stance, I got ready to charge to my death.

"You look like you could use a hand." Someone in a uniform stepped up next to me. "My name's Yu. Let me help." He wasn't the only one to show up.

"Hey, I still think you guys are short a few. Let me help even the numbers a little. Name's Hyde by the way." Just like Yu, this guy was also wearing a school uniform.

"Why don't all you kids just stand back? I'll show you how a real man fights!" That voice… Ragna was the next one to show himself. The bastard. "Just stay out of the way, alright? I'll have these guys dealt with in no time." Shoving Ragna out of the way I focused in on Hector.

"Stay out of _my_ way! This is my fight!" No one was going to get in between me and Hector! "I don't care if you fight the others, but the guy with the fire sword is mine! The only one who can kill Hector is me!" Not waiting for a response, I dashed forward. I could hear the others jump into action as well. Yu fought Adachi, Hyde fought Hilda and Ragna fought Hazama. Upon reaching Hector, our blades clashed. No matter where Hector was, in this world or another, he couldn't escape me!


End file.
